16 April 2003Cantrell "MVP" for IWU Women's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Senior Katie Cantrell, who was the school’s first winner of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin “Player of the Year” award, has been selected as the "Most Valuable Player" for the Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team.
A 5-foot-10 guard from Normal (Community HS), Cantrell set school season records with 490 points and 82 3-point field goals, surpassing marks held by Traci Butler (487 points, 1992-93) and Melissa Glerum (53 3-pointers, 1996-97).
Cantrell, a first team all-CCIW and D3hoops.com all-Central region selection, led IWU to its first-ever league championship with a team-high 16.9 points per game average with 4.6 rebounds per game.Junior guard Cassie Twaddle (Carthage HS) was chosen as the Titans’ “Defensive Player of the Year.” Despite playing an average of 17 minutes per game, the 5-foot-6 Twaddle was third on the team in steals (40) and third in blocked shots (with five).
Senior Kristin Scott (Bloomington, Central Catholic HS) earned the team's "All-American Titan" honor, bestowed for sportsmanship, integrity, leadership and overall responsibility to basketball success.
The Titans, with their third straight winning season and 10th in the last 11 years, won their first-ever CCIW regular season and tournament championships and played in the NCAA Division III tournament for the third time in school history, winning a tourney game for the first time ever.
The five IWU seniors accounted for 54 per cent of the team’s scoring, primarily coming from Cantrell and 5-foot-7 guard Elisa Ettner (Marengo HS). A second team all-CCIW selection for the second straight year, Ettner finished her career as IWU’s 16th all-time leading scorer with 858 points, 18th in rebounds (398) and seventh in assists (234). Her 87 3-point field goals is No. 7 all-time at IWU.
Junior center Brooke Bailey (Byron HS) was a third team all-CCIW selection and, with one season remaining, has surfaced among the Illinois Wesleyan career leaders in rebounds (13th with 513) and scoring (23rd with 699). She was IWU’s top rebounder 16 times this season, averaging a team-high 7.1 boards per game, and led IWU in scoring eight times, averaging 11.1 points.
Head coach Mia Smith, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Division III co-coach of the year, awarded letters to 12 players, seven of whom return for next season. The letterwinners are, with hometowns and high schools:
SENIORS - Jen Birkholz (Forreston HS); Katie Cantrell (Bloomington, Normal Community HS); Elisa Ettner (Marengo HS); Emily Ettner (Marengo HS); Kristin Scott (Bloomington, Central Catholic HS).
JUNIORS - Brooke Bailey (Byron HS); Claire Deveaux (Atlanta, Ga., Paideia HS); Jessie Freiburg (Quincy, Notre Dame HS); Cassie Twaddle (Carthage HS).
SOPHOMORE - Hannah Meharry (Tolono, Unity HS).
FRESHMEN Val Fleishman (Oak Brook, Hinsdale Central HS); Amanda Glerum (Champaign, Centennial HS).
CONTACT: Stew Salowitz, 309.556.3206 or head coach Mia Smith, 309.556.3611